Curated Call
Bislacchi Studio
La prima intenzione del pittore è fare che una superficie piana si dimostri un corpo rilevato e spiccato da esso piano;
e quello che in tale arte eccede più gli altri, quello merita maggior laude.
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Leonardo Da Vinci
The painter's first intention is to make a flat surface appear as a body that is raised and detached from that plane; and what exceeds the others in such art, that deserves more praise.
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Leonardo Da Vinci
Bislacchi (1995) pseudonym of Matteo Santacroce, is an Italian artist based in London, UK.
In 2014 after he gained a Diploma in Graphic Design and photography, he moved to London to study art. He graduated in 2018 with a BA in Fine Art at City and Guilds of London Art School.
The exploration of the confines of the painted canvas support is at the core of his practice.
"I am interested in the notion of painting going beyond the two-dimensional field where the work addresses issues of space, form, and color. I adopt wooden surfaces as purely functional structures creating insertions of painting supports upon which I apply pieces of hand-twisted canvas. Consequently, canvas acts as a means to create the work rather than just being pictorial support, re-confronting space within the boundaries of painting."
Matteo investigates the meaning of spatiality that can live in a work.
"Escaping the constraints of the two-dimensional painting field, the insertions of canvas prescribe the degree of interplay between the work and the viewer, inviting the latter to observe the behavior of the fabric and to experience the application of color in relation to form."
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Awarded in national and international competitions, Bislacchi participated in collective exhibitions in many countries. Group shows include: “Sitting Room”, Artisan Space, London (2020); “Young Talent Contemporary Purchase Prize”, Cello Factory, London (2019); “The Feeling’s Mutual”, The Rectory Projects, London (2019); “The Art of Nature”, Mestna Obcina, Nova Gorica, Slovenia (2019); “PADA Studios”, Barreiro, Portugal (2019); “Finalists of the Signature Art Prize”, Bankside Hotel and the Trinity Art Gallery, London (2019), Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London (2019 – 2018); “ARTPIQ Summerhouse”, Dusseldorf, Germany (2018); City & Guilds Degree Show, London (2018); “Dimensions”, Menier Gallery, London (2018), Crypt Gallery, London (2017), Diorama Arts Centre, London (2016).
Residencies include “The Art of Nature” Cepovan, Slovenia (2019); “PADA Studios”, Barreiro, Portugal (2019); “ARTPIQ Summerhouse”, Dusseldorf, Germany (2018).
He was shortlisted for the “Young Talent Contemporary Purchase Prize” (2019) and the “Signature Art Prize” (2018) and awarded "The Chadwyck-Healey Prize for Painting" (2018).
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You can find more works by Bislacchi here